{"id":87212,"date":"2026-01-20T11:47:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T16:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/?p=87212"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:46:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T18:46:02","slug":"mechanical-engineering-student-awarded-does-university-nuclear-leadership-program-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/mechanical-engineering-student-awarded-does-university-nuclear-leadership-program-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"Mechanical engineering student awarded DOE\u2019s University Nuclear Leadership Program scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the past two years, University of Rhode Island student Max Richardson has earned $15,000 in competitive federal support for his studies\u2014most recently through the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s University Nuclear Leadership Program scholarship for $10,000.<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Richardson in 2024 at FIRST Robotics Competition in Waterbury Competition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Jan. 20, 2026- As a high school student, Max Richardson, of Groton, Connecticut, was introduced to mechanical principles and computer-aided design when he joined FIRST Robotics<\/a>, a global nonprofit youth robotics community. Through the organization, students are taught core engineering principles. The teams are student-led and divided into sub teams that focus on design, fabrication, mechanical construction, programming, electrical, and business. Richardson was a student member for four years, and still returns to mentor his former team. \u201cI truly believe it is the right place to inspire the future STEM professionals of the next generation,\u201d said Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n

Student Organizations<\/h1>\n\n

\u25cf American Nuclear Society
\u25cf American Society for Non-Destructive Testing
\u25cf American Welding Society
\u25cf Hydrobotics
\u25cf American Society of Mechanical Engineers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honor Societies<\/strong>
\u25cf Tau Beta Pi – for engineering
\u25cf Phi Theta Kappa – for community colleges
\u25cf Epsilon Pi Tau – for technology in community colleges
\u25cf Tau Sigma Transfer Student Honors Society
\u25cf National Society of Leadership and Success<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

After high school, Richardson attended Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, Connecticut, where Professor James Sherrard hosts a prestigious two-year Nuclear Engineering Technology <\/a>associate degree program, only one of three in the U.S. The program operates in cooperation with Millstone Station and students are taught concepts by retired nuclear professionals working for, or retired from local energy companies, and students often conduct co-op employment during the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richardson wanted to continue his education and obtain a bachelor\u2019s degree in mechanical engineering<\/a> with a minor in nuclear engineering<\/a>, so he transferred to URI\u2019s College of Engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since joining URI, Richardson participated in the Hydrobotics<\/a> Team and American Society of Mechanical Engineers<\/a> student organizations his first two semesters. Currently, he is treasurer of Tau Sigma Transfer Student Honors Society<\/a>, a group still in its inception. \u201cI am proud to assist our organization’s president mold Tau Sigma into a wonderful community for transfer students to meet their unique needs,\u201d said Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Richardson in 2023 at Radiation Qualifications for Millstone Nuclear Power Station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He also founded the URI Nuclear Club, which hosts informational sessions that supplement the educational background students minoring in nuclear engineering receive from the college. \u201cI hope to pass on the knowledge I received from earning qualifications at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station, and the information covered in my associate\u2019s degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology,\u201d said Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, he\u2019s a member of many other professional organizations and honor societies. Richardson has also received numerous scholarships and recognitions, many of them from membership organizations such as Phi Theta Kappa<\/a>, or the American Nuclear Society<\/a> because of his interest in the subject material, participation at events, and knowledge of the field.<\/p>\n\n\n

Awards and Recognitions<\/h1>\n\n

\u25cf 2023-24 American Nuclear Society Kent W. Hamlin Memorial Scholarship <\/a>
\u25cf 2024 All CT State Academic Team <\/a>
\u25cf Phi Theta Kappa Leaders of Promise Scholarship <\/a>
\u25cf 2024-25 American Nuclear Society Kent W. Hamlin Memorial Scholarship<\/a>
\u25cf 2024 FLUOR Scholarship<\/a>
\u25cf 2025 FLUOR Scholarship <\/a>
\u25cf 2025-26 American Nuclear Society Undergraduate Scholarship <\/a>
\u25cf Jerry M. and Evelyn L. Rhoads Memorial Endowed Scholarship<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

He isn\u2019t stopping there. \u201cI plan to continue my involvement with FIRST Robotics Team 2168, and the URI Nuclear Club,\u201d said Richardson. \u201cI also have more ambitious plans in the works to increase the scope, involvement, and community impact of the nuclear community at URI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Richardson in 2024 at Phi Theta Kappa’s All CT State Academic Team<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He is on track to graduate in spring of 2027 with an additional minor in physics<\/a> and then continue his nuclear education with URI\u2019s master\u2019s certificate in nuclear engineering<\/a> and an MBA<\/a>. \u201cThis latest scholarship opportunity will contribute significantly towards furthering my education,\u201d said Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FIRST Robotics at URI 2026<\/h1>\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past two years, University of Rhode Island student Max Richardson has earned $15,000 in competitive federal support for his studies\u2014most recently through the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s University Nuclear Leadership Program scholarship for $10,000. Jan. 20, 2026- As a high school student, Max Richardson, of Groton, Connecticut, was introduced to mechanical principles and computer-aided design […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5094,"featured_media":87217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[785,17,60,18,77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-front-page-news","category-mcise","category-news","category-students"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87212"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87412,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87212\/revisions\/87412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}